Hypoglycemia/Diabetes

HYPOGLYCEMIA AND DIABETES Hypoglycemia is a low glucose level in the bloodstream. This happens when the glucose burns up to fast or when too much insulin enters the bloodstream. There are two different classifications. These are Reactive and Fasting. Reactive hypoglycemia is the reaction to the disposition of meals and fasting hypoglycemia is caused by discomfort during long periods of not eating. There is also another kind of hypoglycemia called Endogenous. This may be from tumors or liver disease. There are small cell tumors which are called insulinomas that are located in the pancreas that secrete large amounts of insulin. They are all generally benign in 90% of patients. There is a tumor called Extrapancreatic which is very uncommon that can cause hypoglycemia by causing an increase in glucose utilization and a glucose output. These tumors are usually located in the liver, adrenal cortex, gastro system and the lymphatic system. In the fasting hypoglycemia there is severe liver disease, also hepatitis, cancer, cirrhosis and liver congestion and that can be associated with congestive heart failure. All of these reduce the uptake and release of glycerin from the liver. Hypoglycemia is found mostly in adults, newborns, and children. If hypoglycemia is found in a baby, it's because of an increase in the number of cells in body weight and increase in liver glycogen. If they have this problem it may occur 24- 72 hours after birth. If the infant is premature, it will happen more rapidly. It may occur as soon as 6 hours after birth. Maternal disorders that may occur within 24 hours afterbirth include diabetes, toxemia and glycogen disease. There are a lot of medical doctors who seem to misdiagnose their patients. Some doctors tell there patients that they have neuro, psychotic, alcohol, or mental problems and actually they are suffering from low blood sugar syndrome. Most of those patients are usually cured by the correct diet. Dr. Airola has a diet called Airola Diet. Dr. Airola says that his patients that have gone by his diet have responded almost immediately and have had their symptoms disappear due to his diet. Dr. Airola believes that hypoglycemia is one of the most mysterious and complicated diseases. It has been estimated that 10% of Americans have this disease, that is over 20 million people. Some doctors believe it is linked with heart disease and cancer and then other doctors believe that it is harmless. They believe that it is stress related and can be controlled. The major symptoms of hypoglycemia are mental illness, emotional behavior, and low energy. It puts a tremendous strain on his or her life as a whole. It is hard on a person's marriage or any relationship including family. There seems to be a lot of fights, accidents, even suicides when a person's blood sugar is low. Here are a few symptoms that people may have from possible hypoglycemia: Exhaustion, depression, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, blurred vision, constant worrying, craving for sweets, forgetfulness, social behavior, moody, smothering spells and the list goes on. If you suspect that you have this syndrome, then you should go to a nutritionally and biologically oriented doctor. You should suggest a six-hour glucose tolerance test. There has been quite a few misdiagnosed cases as I named earlier. Some doctors have thought that the patient had mental retardation, even diabetes, menopause, Parkinson's disease, migraines, and epilepsy. This is very hard to determine if it is one of these diseases or hypoglycemia. The way they determine this is by having a glucose test named GTT (Glucose tolerance test). Along with this test, thorough examination, history, and listen to all the symptoms that the patient is describing. The doctor should take at least one hour of consultation. Without all of these steps, it could be dangerous. Sometimes a patient may have a few of these symptoms and not have hypoglycemia. When you have this test, you should also fast, then have a glucose solution to drink. One hour after the patient drinks this solution, they have a blood sample taken. Five more samples are taken at hourly intervals and each is measured for its blood sugar level. It has been shown that some patients will have both physical and emotional experiences after having this test. When reading the test, the most important factor is to see how rapidly it drops and not how low the level drops. Another important factor is speed in which the level returns to normal and also how long it remains at the low point. There are important factors to know before anyone has a GTT test. They must tell their doctor if they have taken drugs, like cortis one, prednisone, aspirin, or oral contraceptives. If the patient doesn't mention this, then they could have severe repercussions and even possibly brain damage. The reason is, you could get a severe reaction to the stress of the test. There are several specific nutrients that involve sugar metabolism. If there are deficiencies of these nutrients this upsets the normal metabolic process or the malfunction of organs of sugar metabolism. Some of the nutrients are zinc, vitamin B & C, chromium, antothenic acid, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E and B 6. The standard diet in America is a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Fifty years ago the study of biochemistry and metabology was limited. It wasn't considered to be related to disease except for people who were diabetic . About the only important food element was protein. In this last decade, in research chemists have found that a need for protein is much less then they used to believe. It is believed now that too much protein can be extremely harmful to us because it can lead to heart disease and cancer. As far as hypoglycemia is concerned, with a high protein, low carbohydrate diet it will control the symptom in severe hypoglycemics but it will also aggravate conditions in the future and make it incurable. It overstresses to the adrenal glands and cause them to break down. Consuming too much meat is very dangerous in other ways also. You can have kidney damage, osteoporosis, arthritis and premature aging. On the other hand, we do need a certain amount of protein for various reasons. We need it for repair and rebuilding of cells, enzymes, hormones and mineral metabolism. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science along with the World Health Organization, publishes every four years the Table of Recommended Daily Allowances of various nutrients. In the last two decades they have lowered the daily recommendation for protein from 120 grams to 46 grams. As far as animal protein, meat, fowl , fish, milk, and eggs are high in protein but vegetable protein is also high such as soybeans, peanuts, buckwheat, sunflower seeds, potatoes and all leafy green vegetables. Corn and most beans are incomplete protein because they are low in amino acid. Amino acids are called "complete protein foods". If you have a combination of both tortillas and beans, this is an excellent source of protein. Going back to the Airola Diet that was mentioned earlier, there are some foods and drinks that should be eliminated such as white sugar, ice cream, pasties, cookies, breakfast cereals, and soft drinks. It is not only the sugar and refined carbohydrates that cause hypoglycemia, it puts stress on the whole system. Even sugar free soft drinks are harmful. Alcohol and tobacco, sweet fruit and sweetened vegetables are bad. All processed, canned, and TV dinners are bad. You should only buy fresh foods, grains, vegetables and prepare your own meals. Grains, seeds and nuts are the best forms of health foods. They are the highest in nutrition. Hypoglycemics should eat as much sprout as possible. Grains, seeds and nuts also contain pacufarins. This is a antibiotic resistance factor that increases resistance to disease. The best seeds for a hypoglycemic are flax seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds. You should also have several small meals a day instead of a few large meals. Another thing that hyopglycemics should make sure they have a lot of, and that is natural mineralized water. It contains chromium ( it involves the p roper sugar metabolism). It is also good for cholesterol metabolism. Most food stores sell distilled water but it is not mineralized. You can go to a health store to get plain sea water or purchase a concentrated mineral liquid supplement. Other than food and water, there are some other problems with people that have hypoglycemia. For example if there were a person that was rushed to a hospital and was acting like a drunk, a nurse or doctor would have to look at this problem and determine if that patient was really drunk or hypoglycemic. There is a phrase that is used called "wet, white and wild". The patient will be pale and sweating, they may start acting very violent or out of character. They need to take a blood-glucose test and should never leave the patient regardless if they don't know if it is because they are drunk or not. The patient could slip into unconsciousness. Patients who are prone to severe hypoglycemia reoccur. There is also another type of hypoglycemia that is called Organic Hypoglycemia and that is when you are fasting or even after exercise, but this type is the least common. Another one is tumors of the pancreas and in rare instances inadequate functioning of the anterior pituitary or adrenal cortex. Diabetics occasionally experience hypoglycemic attacks following excessive injections of insulin. What is diabetes? It is caused by the body's inability to produce sufficient insulin or to use the supply of insulin it has. Insulin is a protein hormone which is produced by beta cells in the pancreas, then it secretes into the blood stream. There are two major functions, one is to transfer glucose from the blood to the body cells where it is "burned" as energy and the other function is to convert excess glucose to glycogen, which is stored in the liver and muscles as energy reserves. When you lack insulin or it is not used properly, the body loses it's ability to process glucose. As a result the glucose accumulates into the blood. There are two types of diabetes. Type I is insulin-dependent, (formerly called juvenile-onset) the pancreas produced little or insulin and Type II is adult diabetes. The adult diabetes depends on the amount of insulin produced and it may also be normal but the body may not make efficient use of it. In Type I the reasons why you may have diabetes is heredity, rural infection and severe physical and emotional stress. As in Type II it is strongly hereditary. Some of the symptoms of being a diabetic is weakness and fatigue, increased thirst and urination, blood sugar is more than 300 mg., large amounts of ketones in urine, flushed, dry skin and dry mouth. If a diabetic has a insulin reaction, you may test for hypoglycemia. It will develop suddenly and some of the symptoms are: hunger, pale skin, tingling in mouth, fingers, and tongue, weak faint feelings, trembling, headaches, impaired vision. If you can recognize these signs, you may be able to stop this by drinking or eating something sweet. If a person has diabetes, especially at least for fifteen years, you find you will have some serious complications. One of the complications is eye disease; most diabetics will develop diabetic retinopathy (disease of the retina). This affects the capillaries that supply the retina. Another complication is cardiovascular disease. They have a better chance of having arteriosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, heart attack, and and stroke. There is also kidney disease. Two ways to find out if you have diabetes are fasting and postprandial. For the fasting period you have to wait 10 - 14 hours without anything to eat, but you may drink water. The test usually is taken in the morning to find out what the glucose level is. The postprandial test is to have a meal that is high in carbohydrates and then afterwards there will be a blood sugar test taken at a specific time after the meal. There is also another test that is taken while you are having your treatment. You will be monitored to see how well the diabetes is being controlled. Once diabetes has been diagnosed, the symptoms should be relieved by treatment. As long as you are faithful with your treatment, then your glucose level should be controlled. You should follow a diet . You should be on a real good exercise program. Having diabetes doesn't mean that you will have to change your whole entire life. Your doctor will help you with a diet plan. He lets you know what will be good for you and what foods you should avoid. You should definitely avoid foods that contain a lot of fat . You should also try to avoid simple sugars like glucose, dextrose, corn syrup, and maltose. One kind of sugar that is acceptable is fructose. It causes the blood sugar to rise more slowly. There are also a few artificial sweeteners without calories that are available. Vitamins and minerals will help with a well balanced diet. Another thing is fiber and bulk, they will help out- to lower blood fats. There are several kinds of oral medication that are available. The medications work differently on people. It all depends on how much is taken and how it works on each individual. Sometimes there may be some side effects but they are all usually minor and will go away within a few weeks. Some medications may not work as well after a long period of time, so the doctor may decide to change this patient over to a insulin injection. Insulin is injected into the tissue between the fat layer just under the skin and the muscles that lie below it. The location of the injection needs to be rotated regularly. The insulin that is injected is a natural protein substance . It comes from an animal's pancreas. Most people use disposable syringes and needles. If a person's diabetes is not well controlled, they could end up with infection. Elderly diabetics usually find that they have trouble with their feet. As they get older, the diabetics have a lot of poor circulation in their feet and legs because of arteriosclerosis. If there are injuries to their feet, they may find it hard for them to heal. If you happen to get ill , you may find a hormonal change in your b1ood sugar and increase in your body's need for insulin. A doctor will help you with some guidelines. For example stay with your meal plan as close as your can, test your sugar for urine four times a day, if you inject insulin, ask the doctor if you should change to a shorter acting insulin or a different dose, then if in a few days you're not feeling better, notify the doctor again. Emotional and physical stress effects the hormones in the body. It makes it harder on a diabetic because it raises the blood sugar level high. Diabetics may have to increase their doses of insulin. Most medications are safe to take except for certain cough syrups because a lot of syrups contain sugar. Drugs such as cortisone and certain diuretics may raise blood sugar level, but it can be controlled under a physicians supervision. Any medication can interact with another one, being a diabetic you have to be careful that you don't get a drug reaction from taking diabetic medication and taking another medication at the same time. This also includes alcoholic beverages. Some reactions are vomiting, stomach ache or headache. Alcohol can increase the chances of developing hypoglycemia. There are other things to be aware of. Not just the internal body but also your outside body as well. Your skin, for example. You should use a mild soap and use warm water. The hands and feet may become very sensitive so they have to be careful of neuropathy. You could burn yourself and not even know it. Even when drying off, a diabetic should make sure they dry between the toes well, because rubbing too hard can cause irritation. Diabetics should be very careful not to have dry skin. The skin can crack and cause infection. When using lotions, the lotion should have an oil base. If there are any cuts or skin infections, make sure that they are cleaned out well. Harsh antiseptic lotions, iodine or rubbing alcohol should not be used. One part of the body that should be taken care of properly is a diabetics feet. There are a couple of problems that can develop. As they get older, their circulation becomes poor. The blood may have a harder time to reach the feet and t h e o t h e r problem is that injuries may be slow to heal. Nerve damage can make you less sensitive to pain so they may not even realize that their shoes may rub or pinch their feet then that will cause blisters or other foot injuries. Leather or canvas shoes are the best to buy because they allow your feet to breathe. Foot ulcers are another problem. The ulcers are open wounds that are deep and have dying tissue beneath the surface of the wound. The most likely area to find an ulcer is near the ball of the foot and on the bottom of the big toe. If this occurs you should get medical attention immediately. If it gets too severe, there could be a chance of amputation. Also, another factor with diabetics is obesity. Having too much fat, particularly in the upper body, decreases your body's ability to use insulin. It puts a strain on the pancreas to produce enough extra insulin. If this isn't met, as time goes on there will be excessive levels of glucose circulating in the blood, which then will impair efficiency with the cells in the body which will take in and use glucose. Now you will have more glucose that still remains in your blood that was unused, then your blood insulin levels will keep going up. This may take a long time to happen, like possibly years. If you can keep your body as healthy as possible by exercising and watch what you eat so you can control your weight, then there will be a better chance of developing diabetes Type II. If a diabetic is obese , the best thing for them to do would be to find a weight loss clinic and be under medical supervision. They even may find talking to a psychologist for support. They should set goals and reward themselves. If a diabetic goes into Type II they may suffer from hypertension, arthritis, or even high levels of blood lipids. In hypertension the body weight and salt intake plays a big role in high blood pressure. In the stage of Type II , at least 60% of diabetics over 10 years with the disease have high blood pressure. It can do a lot of damage to the blood vessels and capillaries, especially in the eyes and the kidneys. It is also a great risk to the cardiovascular system. On doing this report, I feel that basically it all means that only a total wholistic approach to healing can effect a complete restoration of health. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books 1. Airola, Dr., Hypoglycemia - A Better Approach. 2. The Mirch Manual - Fifteenth Addition. 3. Leavelle, Dr. Dennis, Professional Guide to Disease. 4. Encyclopedia Americana. 5. Edelwich, Jerry, and Brodsky, Archie, Diabetes - Caring For Your Health. 6. Board of Directors, Learning to Live with Diabetes. 7. American Diabetes Association, Type II Diabetes - Your Healthy Living Guide. Magazines 1. Managing Acute Complications of Diabetes - #21, January - June 1991. 2. Nursing Times, January - March, pg. 87. 3. Patient Care, February 1991, pg. 49-86, pg. 112.